Medi wins first Champions League game of the season by 87:71

medi Bayreuth had to wait a long time for it, but now it is in the bag: the first victory in the Basketball Champions League this season. In front of 2,140 spectators in the Oberfrankenhalle, medi Bayreuth defeated the Belgian club Filou Oostende, which has a string of national titles to its name, by 87:71 (40:39) and so made a big leap forward in the standings in Group D.

medi began its fifth Champions League game of the season with David Stockton in the starting five and, as in the past games, was highly focused in the opening spell. Unlike in the preceding games, however, this time the opposing side from Oostende put up strong resistance to begin with. Thanks to good shooting percentages, as well as few turnovers and fouls, a lively and changeable affair ensued, in which medi Bayreuth finished five points ahead at the end of the first period.

None of the teams was initially able to build any crucial advantage in the second quarter, either. However, the 3-point field goal percentage of Head Coach Raoul Korner’s team began to drop and the Belgian side was a little stronger in rebounding, with the result that the visitors themselves went five points in front shortly before the end of the first half. Nevertheless, medi was able to go in at the break with a narrow lead, thanks to its two best players on the evening: David Stockton, who directed his team’s build-ups with circumspection and without excessively forcing the pace, and Hassan Martin, who again chalked up a high shooting percentage. The duo bagged six free throws in the final 50 seconds to put their side back in front – a lead it would no longer surrender.

That was because Bayreuth also managed this time to stick nicely to their game plan after the break, too. medi worked even more aggressively in defense, forcing its opponents to concede turnovers time and again. And in offense, the home side’s 3-point field goal percentage improved steadily, enabling it to open up a slight gap. Kassius Robertson and De’Mon Brooks chalked up their team’s first double-digit lead shortly before the end of the third quarter.

Bayreuth quickly extended the gap in the final period. That was largely thanks to Nik Raivio, who first drained a bucket from downtown and then finished an and one. Head Coach Dario Gjergja’s team no longer found a way to pose any serious threat to medi, who repulsed all the opposing side’s efforts by continuing to defend very strongly. Since it improved in the rebounding department and repeatedly drained wide-open three-point shots, medi Bayreuth romped to a commanding 87:71 victory.

Source: www.medi-bayreuth.de